WELCOME TO HIGH SCHOOL Class of 2022

THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL

Middle

▪Grades do not count as credits

▪You go to the same classes every day

High

▪Grades become credits that are required for graduation

▪You will follow a modified block schedule

HOW DO I EARN A CREDIT???

A student earns a credit when he or she successfully completes a course by earning a minimum grade of a 70 and being in attendance 90% of the time.

Students earn a half credit for each successfully completed semester class.

Students must earn a particular number of credits to be promoted from one grade to the next and to graduate.

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

The class of 2022 will complete the Foundation plus Endorsements Graduation Plan and pass 5 End of Course (EOC) Exams to

graduate.

STAAR EOC REQUIREMENTS

• English 1

• Algebra 1

• BiologyFreshman Year

• English 2Sophomore

Year

• US HistoryJunior Year

CORE FOUNDATION REQUIREMENTS

ENGLISH LANGUAGE

ARTS

4 CREDITS

MATHEMATICS

4 CREDITS

SCIENCE

4 CREDITS

SOCIAL STUDIES

4 CREDITS

English 1 Algebra 1 Biology World Geography or AP

Human Geography

English 2 Geometry Chemistry World History

English 3 Algebra 2 or Math Models Physics US History

English 4 Algebra 2 or Advanced

Math

Advanced Science Government/Economics

*All courses have a PreAP, AP or IB option.

CORE FOUNDATION CONTINUED:

WORLD LANGUAGE

2 CREDITS

SPEECH

½ CREDIT

HS 101

½ CREDIT

FINE ARTS

1 CREDIT

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

1 CREDIT

Spanish

French

German

Latin

American Sign Language*

Professional

Communications

High School 101 Art

Band

Dance

Choir

Orchestra

Theater Arts

P.E. or Partner P.E.

Athletics

ROTC

Dance

Marching Band (fall only)

Cheerleading (fall only)

Drill Team (fall only)

* Not all colleges and universities recognize this course as a world language

ELECTIVE COURSES

In addition to core courses, students will select additional electives to bring their credit total to 26.

GRADE POINT AVERAGE Course Planning Guide

• The calculation of your GPA begins the first day of high school

• All core classes (English, Math, Science and Social Studies) plus world language will be

calculated into your GPA

• High school course credits earned in middle school do not calculate into the GPA

Unweighted Courses Weighted Courses (PreAP,

AP, IB)

90 – 100 = 4 90 – 100 = 5

80 – 89 = 3 80 – 89 = 4

70 – 79 = 2 70 – 79 = 3

69 or below = 0 69 or below = 0

ENDORSEMENTS

Every student will select an Endorsement under which he or she will graduate:

Multidisciplinary

STEM

Business and Industry

Public Service

Arts and Humanities

Students in Denton ISD who meet the before described graduation requirements will graduate with at least the Multidisciplinary Endorsement.

WHY CHOOSE AN ENDORSEMENT?

Allows the student to apply core

curriculum in a practical way

Allows the student to earn licensures and certifications while in high

school

Helps the student build skills toward

college and/or career choices

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY COMPLEX LaGrone ATC

DISTINGUISHED LEVEL OF ACHIEVEMENT

A student may earn a distinguished level of achievement

by successfully completing the curriculum requirements for

at least one endorsement, including four credits in science,

and four credits in mathematics, to include Algebra II. The

distinguished level of achievement must be earned for

students to be admitted to public universities under the

top 10 percent automatic admission law.

PERFORMANCE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Dual Credit

Bilingualism and Biliteracy

AP/IB Exams

National Merit Scholarship Finalist

Particular score on PSAT, SAT or ACT

Business/Industry Certification

PERFORMANCE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Take rigorous courses your freshman year and throughout high school.

Keep your grades up. They can affect future opportunities.

Request tutoring if you need it.

Make school attendance a priority.

What can I do now to work

toward earning a performance

acknowledgement?

TO PRE-AP OR NOT TO PRE-AP That is the question!

• Students who take PreAP/AP coursework are better prepared for college curriculum

• Students who take PreAP/AP coursework are better prepared for SAT/ACT college

admissions exams

• If a student scores 3 or higher on an AP exam, it might count as college credit

• PreAP and AP courses are weighted more heavily in the GPA

• Not taking the first years of PreAP courses may hurt your chances of success in AP courses

later

• PreAP and AP courses can require a larger time commitment – assume each class will require

30 – 45 minutes of study/homework time per night

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE PROGRAM

Middle Years Programme (MYP) 9th

& 10th Grade

ALL 9th graders will take MYP Design (HS 101/Professional Comm. )

Begin or continue 4 years of a World Language

Individual learning through Problem-Based Units and Personal Project

Gain technology and practical skills that will produce success in the DP

All 9th & 10th graders are MYP students

Diploma Programme (DP)11th & 12th Grade

Students receive a rigorous, college prep program valued throughout the world

Multiple assessments are used to achieve scores reported to colleges

TX HB 111 provides a minimum of 24 college credit hours at TX public universities for diploma earners

DP is a choice program for 11th and 12th graders but is required for all IB transfer students

Crystal Sullivan: csullivan@dentonisd.org

PERSONAL GRADUATION PLANS a.k.a. 4 – year plans

ENDORSEMENTS

Science, Engineering, Technology &

Math

Arts & HumanitiesBusiness & Industry

Public Service Multidisciplinary

PGP CARD

COURSE SELECTION

Counselors will work with students to make sure they are selecting the correct courses for 9th grade.

The 9th grade courses will be written in on the students Personal Graduation Plan or PGP. Only the courses being input for 9th

grade on the PGP will be for actual course selection.

Students may not take a course in high school that they have already taken in middle school for HS credit. (Example – Algebra and/or Spanish)

Students will write in

their endorsement and

Career Pathway. These

can be changed!

With the assistance of

the counselors, students

will select the courses

they will be taking as

9th graders.

With the assistance of the

counselors, students will

develop the remainder of

their Personal Graduation

Plans. This will be revisited

each year of high school.

The student and parent

should sign the PGP

acknowledging the

endorsement choice and

schedule change policy.

MIDDLE SCHOOL November 16

VERIFICATION LETTER

A VERIFICATION LETTER WILL BE MAILED

HOME IN LATE MARCH FOR STUDENTS

AND PARENTS TO REVIEW.

April 13 will be the last date to make any changes to the 9th grade

selected courses.

GOT QUESTIONS???? Please reach out to the school

counselor

STILL HAVE QUESTIONS???Planning is brining the future into

the present so that you can do

something about it now.

– Alan Lakein

View this power point on the

DENTON ISD counseling website

or the high school websites.